Control mechanism



Jan. 30, 1945 o H T 2,368,546

CONTROL MECHANISM Filed March 31, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORN EYS Jan. 1945. J, o, HUNT CONTROL MECHANJIISM Filed March 31, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENT Jan. 30, 1945. l J o HUNT 2,368,546

CONTROL MECHANISM Filed March :51, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet s ATTORNEYS Jan. 30, 1945.

J. o. HUNT CONTROL MECHANISM Filed March. 31, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 M 20ml; ATTORNEYS Jan. 30, 1945. I J. o. HUNT 2,368,546

CONTROL MECHANISM Fi led March 31, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet s I ATTO R N EYS vages.

Patented Jan. 30, '1 945 UNITED STATE HPAT ENT OFFICE CONTROL MEOHANISM John 0. Hunt, Greenville, S. 0., assignor'to Ware shoalsm anufacturing 00., Ware Shoals, S. 'C.,

a corporation or South Carolina Application March 31,1943, Serial No. 481,247 g f7 m ins.

This invention relates to mechanism for con- I trolling the functioning of a machine. capableof performing more than one operation, the control mechanism automatically causing a shift in the;

pable of weaving fabrics of different types, as, for

example, both tubular and plain goods. When employed in conjunction with such a loom, the control mechanism determines the lengths of the respective sections of plain and tubular .fabric produced and may be so adjusted that :a wide variation in the lengths of the sections is possible. The new mechanism will, accordingly, be illustrated and described in a form suitable for use with a loom of. the type mentioned, althoughit will be understood that the utility of the; mechanism is not confined to loom control.

Looms for use in the production of. bothplain and tubular goods are commonlyprovided with four heddle frames which. are raised and lowered by treadles actuated, directly or indirectly, by cams. When such a 100m is weaving plain goods, the treadles ar actuated in pairs, with onepair rising as the other pair descends, and vice .versa. When tubular goods are being woven, the treadles, function differently, so that in each shed, .there are three sets of warp threads controlledby respective heddles at one side of the shed and one set at the other. produced, the webs being connected at their sel- The loom is provided with means for actuating the treadles in the two difierent ways and the control mechanism of theinventionmay be used to control such actuating means to deter-: mine when a shift in .the operation o'fthe loom will occur and to effect the shift.

The new control mechanism includes a drum which is driven in synchronism with the loom and is provided with a series of pattern areasarranged in a helical path. During the operation of the loom, the drum is rotated and moved endwise with a step by step movement and the p'attern areas in the series are thus brought successively to a station at which reading means are located, Such reading means may take the form of a feeler which is-raised free of the drum just before the latter is advanced a Stepand is then moved into contact with thedrum when the latter is at rest. The-fe'eler engages the successive pattern areas in the series and, whenever a pat Two separate webs-are thus tern area of a particular type is engaged by the feeler, the latter functions through associated mechanism. to cause a changeover in the loom operation. The arrangement of the. pattern areas on the drum thus determines the kind'of material being produced at 'aparticular time .and

also the length of time 'duringwhich the loom will continue to produce that material. When-the drum reaches one end of its path of travel,;it is automatically reversed, so that the 100m being controlled can operate indefinitely without attention. By re-arranging the: areas .on the drum, the-lengths of the sections of the two kinds of material may be varied, as desired, and the" constructionxof the mechanism is such that small variations in the lengths of the sections may be made, as may be desired.

. For a better understanding of the invention,

reference maybe had to the accompanying dra'w-v V ings in which v Fig. 1 is a view of the control mechanism .as applied to'a loom, the parts being shown partly in side elevation and partly in 'section on the line i--l of Fig. 5.; 1 y

Fig. 2 is a'sectional view of the control mechanism on the line 2-2 :of Fig. 3;

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views on the lines 33 and 4-4, respectively, of Fig, 2;'-. 1. 33

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line -5--5"'of Fig. 1;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views on the 6-15 and 1--"|, 'respectively, of Fig.5; 7

Figs. 8'and 9 are elevational views of cams used in that part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line'lD-IO of Fig.5;and

Figs. 11 to 16; inclusive, are views in side elevation of the treadles-and associated operating parts.

The control mechanism in the form illustrated is employed forithe control of a loom 20 which includes four heddle frames "(not shown) connected in the usual way to treadles 2 I, '22, 23, and 24, mounted for swinging movement on a rod 2 5 supported on'a suitabl art of the loom structure. Thetreadle 21 is provided with'a rol1e'r 26 mounted at the top of a box 21in position to be engaged by a cam on the 100111 cam shaft and the treadl also carries a pair of pIatesZ-B attached to I its opposite faces and extending'downward, the

v plates having lots 29 extending lengthwiseof the treadle. The "hub 30 of the treadle "is provided with a depending bracket 3| through which em tends arod 32 and-therod isflp vi ed wi h a D E 33 extends 'throu-g'h the sl'ots plates 23."

The pin is provided with rollers engagin the Walls of the slots and the pin extends outwardly past plate 28on the side toward treadle 22 and carries a roller 34 (Fig. 5) on its exposed end.

Treadle 22 is provided with a box containing a roller 35 engageable by a cam on the cam shaft and the box is formed with an extension 36 having a recess 36a in such position that, when rod 32 on treadle 2| is moved to the limit of its inward movement toward the hub of the treadle, the roller 34 on pin 33 will lie within the recess. When the parts are in this position, treadles 2| and 22 are connected together and operate as a unit. When pin 33 is in its outermost position, the roller 34 is outside the recess and the treadles are individually operated.

Lying between treadles 22 and 23 i a lever 31 pivotally mounted at one endon rod 25 and pro vided with a box containing a roller 38 engageable by a cam on the cam shazft. Beyond the box, the lever has an extension 39 formed with a vertical slot 46. The treadle 23 is not equipped with a cam roller but is provided with a pair of depending plates 4| having lengthwise slots 42. At its hub, treadle 23 is provided with a bracket 43 through which extends a rod 44 having a pin 45 extending through the slots 42 in plates 4| and having roller running on the walls of the slots. The pin 45 projects outwardly beyond both plates and it is provided with rollers 46 at its extreme ends. When rod 44 is moved outwardly so that pin 45 1165 at the outer ends of slots 42, the roller -45 at one end of the pin lies beneath the extension 39 on lever 31, so that treadle 23 will be depressed whenever lever 31 is depressed by its cam.

Lever 41 lies between treadles 23 and 24 and is provided. with a box 48 in which is mounted a roller 49 engageable by a cam on the cam shaft.

The outer end of the box terminates in an extension 50 and, when the pin 45 on rod 44 mounted on treadle 23 i at the outer end of slots 42, one of the rollers 46 on the end of the pin lies outward beyond extension 5|]. When the rod 44 ismoved inward, one roller 46 on the pin lies beneath the extension. At the same time, the roller 46 at the other end of the pin is in alignment with the .slot 46 in the extension 39 from lever 31. Thus, by moving rod 44 in or out, the pin 45 serves to connect treadle 23 either to lever 31 or lever 41 to be depressed therewith.

Treadle 24 is of th same construction as treadle 23 in that it has no roller engageable by a cam but is provided with a rod 44a similar to rod 44 and provided with a pin having rollers lying within slots in plates depending from the treadle and also having rollers 5| at its ends outside the plates. When the pin on treadle 24 is in its outer position, the roller 5| at one end lies beyond the end of extension 56 on lever 41; when the pin is at the other end of the slot, the roller 5| lies beneath extension 5|] and the treadle is connected to the lever 41 to be depressed therewith.

. Next to treadle 24 is a lever 52 provided with a box 53 having a roller 54 engageable by a cam on the cam shaft. The box terminates in an extension 55 provided with a slot 56. When the pin on treadle 24 is in its outer position, one of the rollers 5| on the end of the pin lies beneath the extension 55 on lever 52, so that treadle 24 and lever 52 are depressed together. When the pin on treadle 24 lies at its inner position, the roller 5| on the end of the pin is in registry with the slot 56 on the lever. The; arrangement is such,

therefore, that when the pin on treadle 24 is in its inner position, the treadle is connected to lever 41 to be depressed thereby and when the pin is in its outer position, the treadle is depressed by lever 52.

The rod 32 mounted on treadle 2| is connected to an arm 51 fast on a tubular shaft 58 mounted in appropriate brackets on a fixed part of the loom frame. Within the tubular shaft is a shaft 59 which extends out of the end of shaft 58 and is provided with a pair of arms 66, 60a which are connected, respectively, to rods 44 and 44a on treadles 23 and 24.

A cam shaft am extends over the tops of the rollers on the treadles and levers and this shaft -is provided with cams by which the treadles and picks woven into the fabric and cams 5| and 52 are of such form that as the cam shaft rotates, they depress their respective treadles and thus raise the heddles connected thereto one pick out of four. The heddles connected to treadles 2| and 22 may thus be considered to be up for one pick and down for three picks in each cycle of four picks. When treadles 2| and 22 are connected together by pin 33, cams 6| and 62 are both in action and the two treadles are down on alternate picks.

Cam 63 acting on lever 31 has a shape such that th lever is down for three picks and up for one and cam 64 acting on lever 52 has the same shape as cam 63 but is out of phase. Cam 65 acting on lever 41 has a shape such that the lever is alternately up and down for successive picks.

Rods 44 and 44a on treadles 23 and 24 are shifted simultaneously by rocking shaft 59 and when the rods are in their outermost position, so that treadle 23 is connected to lever 31 and treadle 24 connected to lever 52, the treadles are down for three picks and up for one out of each cycle of four picks and are out of step 180. When the rods 44 and 44a are moved inward, treadles 23 and 24 are both connected to lever 41 and the treadles are then actuated by cam 65 acting on lever 41 and are alternately up and down.

In the weaving of tubular fabric, treadles 2| and 22 are disconnected and treadles 23 and 24 are connected, respectively, to levers 31 and 52. With this arrangement, there are three sets of warp threads controlled by respective heddles at one side of each shed and one set at the other side and the loom produces two webs connected at the selvages to form a tube. When treadles 2| and 22 are connected together and treadles 23 and 24 are connected to lever 41, each shed contains two sets of warp threads at each side and the fabric being woven is plain goods.

Th changeover from one type of weaving operation to the other is effected byrocking shafts 58 and 59 and this action is accomplished by means of cams 66, 61 connected together but loose on shaft 68, which is driven through gearing 69 from the main drive shaft of the'loom. A ratchet wheel 16 is mounted loosely on shaft 53 and is connected to the cams and at the other side of the cams is a disc 1| which is fast to the cams and loose on the shaft. Disc H has peripheral depressions in which may be seated a roller 12 on a spring-pressed arm 13, and the entrance of the roller into one of the depressions serves to prevent overrunning of the ratchet wheel and the cams I'he' :ratchet'whe'el is advanced bymeans of a pawl I4 on a lever I5 pivoted on a suitable part of the loom frame and ithis'lever is provided with aro'llerlfi held against the surface of a cam TI on shaft 68 by means of a spring 18 acting on the lever. As the cam rotates, it advances the pawl in two steps per revolution and, in the second'step, the pawl, if free to do so, will engage a tooth on the ratchet wheel and advance the wheel and cams 66 and 61 by one step. 7

The cams control the position of shafts 50 and 59 and, for this purpose, each shaft is provided with an arm 79 carrying a roller 80 bearing against one of the cams. The shape of the cams is such that on each double step in the movement of the ratchet wheel, each cam shifts its shaft 58 or 59 from one positidn to the other and a change in the actuation of the treadles is effected. The cams, though similar, are slightly offset so that the rocking of shafts 58 and 59,

with accompanying movement of rods 32, 44, and 44a, will take place when the treadlesor'levers are not being depressed by the cams on the cam shaft and the pins on the rods are not undergoing strain.

The shaft 68 operates continually while the loom is running and lever I5 is depressed by cam I! once ,per revolution of the shaft. If pawl 14 were permitted to act each time shaft I5is depressed, the mode of operation of the loom would continually change and the sections of the plain and tubular goods would be extremely short. In order that the sections maybe of proper length, the pawl is prevented from acting on the ratchet wheel, except at proper intervals -and,.for this purpose, the pawl is kept free of the ratchet wheel by a guard BI which is engageable by a roller 8 Ia mountedon a pawl.

Guard 8I' is formed as one end'offa lever 82 pivoted on rod 83 supported in any convenient manner, the rod also serving as a pivot for arm I3. The other end of lever 82 is connected by a link 84 to one end of a lever 85, the otherend of which is connected .to one end of a lever 86. The other end of lever 86 is connected by a link 91 toalever 88 provided with a feeler 89 coop- .eratingwith a drum 90. The drum is formed with an internally threaded hub mounted on'the screw threaded portion 9! of a rod 92 rigidly 93 rotates witha step by step movement, the

drum is similarlyrotated stepwise and at the same time moves along the threaded portion of shaft 91 and of worm wheel 96 may be reversed. Drum 90 is provided at one end with a pin I02 which is engageable with an arm I03 on a rock shaft I04 supported in suitable brackets on the frame and provided with an arm I05 connected to clutch member I0l. An arm I06 is also mounted on shaft I04 and this arm is provided with a pin- I01 entering a slot in an arm at one end to the pin I09 andat the other end I ple, to the left in Fig. 3, until arm I I3 on the the drum to rotate in the reverse direction, the drum moving endwise along screw 9| in such end of the drum strikes arm II4 on shaft I 04. This causes shaft I04 to be rocked and clutch member lOl'is disengaged from one gear 98, 99 and engaged with the other, spring IIO assisting in throwing theclutch member over and insuring'tight engagement with the gear. This action causes a reversal in'the direction of rotationof shaft 91, and wheel 96 thereon causes movement, The reverse movement of the drum continues until pin I02 thereon strikes arm I03 on shaft I04, whereupon clutch member I 0| is shifted to the other ofgears 98, 99 and thedrum begins to move in its original direction.

The feeler lever 88 is provided with an arm II5 having a roller H6 bearing on a cam II! on shaft 97 and the shape of the cam is such that just before the rib on worm Wheel 96 causes gear 93 and drum 90 to advance one step, lever 88 is moved upwardly, so that the feeler 89 is free of the surface of the drum. This upward movement of the feelercauses guardlever 82 to swing counterclockwise onits pivot 83 with guard BI continuing effective to hold pawl I4 free of ratchet wheel 10. After each advance of the drum one step by rotation of wheel 96, the lever.

88.is permitted to descend. If the feeler 99 on the lever engages a solid part of the drum, the movement of lever -88 is arrested Without any change in the operation of the pawl guard 8I. Whenever a change in the operation of the loom is desired, a hole is bored through the drum at the proper point and when this holelies beneath the feeler, the feeler enters the hole on th down ward movement of lever 88 and this causes lever 82 to be swung, so that the guard 8| moves away I from roller8la onpawl I4. As the pawl is next rod 92, so that the drum is given a stepwise roand 99- is a clutch member I M which may be 4 moved into contact with one or the other of gears 98, 99. When the clutch member is in contact with one of the gears, that gear is connected through the clutch member to shaft 91 and the shaft is driven from gear I00. By shifting the clutch member from one of the gears 98, 99 tothe othenthe .directionof rotationof forced down by'thea'ction of cam 11, the pawl engages a tooth of the ratchet and causes the ratchetandcams and 61 to advance one-step. As the cams act, on shafts 58, 59 to change over the operation of the loom from one type of weave to the other, the position of the holes in the drum and the. spacing of the holes determines how long the 10cm will continue to operate in the production of a given type of fabric and, therefore, the lengths of the sections of the different typesof goods. I.

In theweavingof a fabric of 80 picks to the inch and consisting of alternate sections of tu-,

' bular and plain goods which may be cut into the fabric. Each revolution of the drum then represents 400 picks and, if the screw 9| has a pitch of and the drum has a 3" face, the drum will hold about 9.1 convolutions of the helix described by a fixed point thereon as the drum is advanced. As each revolution represents 400 picks, the drum is capable of controlling the weaving of a total or unit length of 45.5" of 80 pick goods. The holes may then be formed in the drum at appropriate intervals to form sections of tubular and plain goods of such lengths as to equal the unit length of 45.5".

In the construction described, the entire face of the drum is employed for control purposes, but, if desired, less than the total face may be employed. For this purpose, the arm I I4 is made adjustable along shaft I04 and may be so positioned as to cause a reversal in the direction of rotation of the drum before the entire surface of the drum has passed beneath the feeler. Thus, instead of a unit length of 45.5", the operation of the loom may be so controlled that the unit length, consisting of one section of plain and one section of tubular goods, may be considerably shorter, as, for example, 40". The lengths of the respective sections making up the unit length may be varied as desired by placing the holes at appropriate places on the drum.

The solid areas and the holes on the drum which are brought, respectively, beneath the feeler may be considered pattern areas which are read by the feeler and the feeler then acts in response tothose pattern areas to control the operation of the loom and to effect the changeover in operation. The drum is prepared for the weaving of a particular type of goods by forming holes in it at the proper locations and if, at a later time, goods of a different type are to be woven, that is, having plain and tubular sections of lengths different from those of the fabric for which the drum was initially prepared, the original openings in the drum are filled and openings made at the new locations required.

The drum thus serves as a counter which counts off the number of operations of the machine being controlled before causing a changeover in the operation of the machine. In effecting the changeover, the feeler lever acts through the guard to permit the ratchet wheel and pawl I to bring the changeover cams into action. In

the application of the control to the loom described, the changeover involves a change in the manner of operation of the treadles with a resultant change in the type of fabric being woven.

I claim:

1. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise, means for reading said pattern areas and responsive thereto, and means operating under the control of the reading means in response to said pattern areas and adapted to shift the heddle operating means from one mode of operation to another, said shifting means including a pair of cams, and means controlled by the reading means for rotating the cams.

2. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon 3. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise in a series of steps, means for reversing the action of the rotating and moving means at the ends of the series of steps, a feeler, means for moving the feeler into contact with the pattern areas successively, means operating under control of the feeler when in contact with certain pattern areas and adapted to shift the heddle operating means from one mode of operation to another, said shifting means including a pair of cams, and means controlled by the feeler for rotating the cams.

4. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise in a series of steps, means for reversing the action of the rotating and moving means at the ends of the series of steps, a feeler, means for moving the'feeler into contact with the pattern areas successively, means operating under control of the feeler when in contact with certain pattern areas and adapted to shift the heddle operating means from one mode of operation to another, said shifting means including a pair of cams, a ratchet wheel connected to the earns, a pawl for operat ing the ratchet Wheel, and a guard controlled by the feeler for controlling the action of the pawl on the ratchet wheel.

5. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise in a series of steps, means for reversing the action of the rotating and moving means at the ends of the series of steps, means for reading said pattern areas and responsive thereto, and means adapted to shift the heddle operating means from one mode of operation to another, said shifting means including a pair of cams, means controlled by the pattern reading means for rotating the cams, and a pair of rock shafts movable to different positions by the action of the respective cams.

6. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for operating the heddles in different ways to Weave different fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise in a series of steps, means for reversing the action of the rotating and moving means at the ends of the series of steps, means for reading said pattern areas and responsive thereto, and means adapted to shift the heddle operating means from one mode of operation to another, said shifting means including a pair of cams, and means controlled by the pattern reading means for rotating the cams step by step.

7. A control mechanism for controlling the operation of a loom having a plurality of heddles and means for. operating the heddles in different Ways to weave difierent fabrics, comprising a drum having pattern areas arranged thereon along a helical path, means for simultaneously rotating the drum and moving it endwise in a JOHN O. HUNT. 

